Frank Mir
Frank Mir is a former two-time UFC heavyweight champion and one of only two men to finish Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a fight. He was the first man to finish Nogueira with punches and the first man to submit Nogueira. Mir was most recently rumored to be next slated to face former heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga after the Carwin fight. Instead, Mir was announced to be fighting in a rematch against rival Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. About a month before the fight was set to occur, Nogueira was injured and required surgery and he was forced to pull out of the fight. Mirko Filipovic replaced Nogueira. After three boring rounds, Mir knocked Filipovic out with a knee. No one cared. It was that fucking boring. Mir was next rumored to face upcoming prospect Brendan Schaub. Mir was replaced in the rumors by Stefan Struve and finally officially by his former opponent Mirko Filipovic. Mir next faced Roy Nelson and won via dominant unanimous decision. Unfortunately he suffered a broken jaw and a broken rib during the bout and he was forced to be out of the sport until late 2011. After recovering, Mir next fought a rematch against former Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Despite dropping Mir early with a blistering combination of punches, Nogueira was overtaken by Mir on the ground. Mir locked up a fight-ending kimura, snapping Nogueira's arm with a historical submission victory that Nogueira -- and many, many MMA fans -- wouldn't soon forget. Nogueira declined major surgery after the horrific injury, but he must have begun to consider retirement. With the victory intact unlike Nogueira's arm, Mir knew he was one fight away from his second shot at a UFC heavyweight title since he last tasted the gold. Mir was next set to face fellow former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. A month or so before the Velasquez fight, UFC heavyweight challenger Alistair Overeem tested positive for steroids in early April 2012. Mir stepped in to replace Overeem and receive his well-earned shot at the UFC heavyweight title held by the intimidating Junior Dos Santos. Mir was replaced against Velasquez by Strikeforce veteran Antonio Silva. Dos Santos knocked Mir out in the second round. Mir was next set to make his Strikeforce debut against undefeated phenom Dan Cormier but he was unfortunately injured and replaced by Dion Staring. Cormier called Mir out after defeating Staring and the fight was set for April 20th, 2013 (almost a year after the Dos Santos fight). It would be Cormier's UFC debut. Mir started the trash talk off early saying that he wasn't impressed by Cormier at all with Cormier replying that Mir "doesn't want to piss me off." The fight didn't live up to the expectations with Cormier controlling Mir against the fence for the majority of the fifteen minutes alotted to them to 'fight.' Cormier earned the unanimous decision victory handing Mir his second straight loss. Mir next signed to welcome back UFC pioneer and former heavyweight champion Josh Barnett. Barnett defeated Mir via a controversial first round technical knockout, a stoppage which Mir vehemently protested. An immediate rematch was considered. Instead Mir quickly signed to fight former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem with the fight set to occur just a few months after the Barnett loss. Fights *Frank Mir vs. Roberto Traven - The fight was Mir's UFC debut. *Frank Mir vs. Tank Abbott *Frank Mir vs. Wes Sims 2 - The fight was a rematch of their previous meeting where Wes Sims had lost by disqualification due to illegal foot stomps. Sims had a seven-inch height advantage. *Marcio Cruz vs. Frank Mir *Frank Mir vs. Dan Christison *Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar 1 - The controversial fight was Brock Lesnar's UFC debut and only his second MMA fight. It was also his first loss. *Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir 1 - Mir won the interim heavyweight championship, his second time holding the UFC heavyweight title. This set up his anticipated second fight with champion Lesnar. This also marked the first time Nogueira had been stopped in his mixed martial arts career. Nogueira chalked it up to having staph infection. *Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir 2 - The fight was to unify the interim UFC heavyweight title (held by Mir) with the official heavyweight title (held by Brock Lesnar). *Frank Mir vs. Cheick Kongo - Mir became the first man to submit Cheick Kongo. *Frank Mir vs. Mirko Filipovic - The fight was the first true knockout delivered in Mir's career. In an odd combination, it was also considered one of the most snore-inducing fights in UFC history. *Frank Mir vs. Roy Nelson - Mir suffered a broken jaw and a broken rib during the bout. *Frank Mir vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 2 - The fight was the first time that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had been submitted, after Mir broke his shoulder with a kimura. *Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva *Andrei Arlovski vs. Frank Mir *Mark Hunt vs. Frank Mir *Fedor Emelianenko vs. Frank Mir - The fight was the Bellator debut of Frank Mir, in the quarterfinals of the Bellator heavyweight grand prix. Category:UFC heavyweight champions Category:Heavyweight fighters Category:Bellator fighters